Misfits Gaming and Outerstuff are partnering up to launch a line of esports and gaming apparel.
CEO and co-founder of Misfits Ben Spoont has said that even though esports has a large and passionate fanbase, the fanbase doesn’t yet have the needed availability of licensed apparel worldwide.
“As a team owner myself, I’ve experienced firsthand the many issues relating to designing, manufacturing, and distributing the apparel that fans are clamoring to purchase,” he stated.
Since this is especially true for China, Misfits has picked an apparel designer with global operations and retail channels in Asia for their Misfits Gaming and Florida Mayhem brands. Outerstuff will oversee the design, sales, marketing, and distribution, while Misfits will work with key stakeholders.
Outerstuff and Misfits will be launching unique brand apparel for online and in-store retail from various IP holders. Additionally, Outerstuff has made an equity investment in Misfits.
Outerstuff designs, manufactures, and markets youth sports apparel for many sports leagues and colleges in North America, including the NFL and NBA. It also designs and manufactures youth collections for Adidas.
Misfits is not the first esports organization to venture into a partnership with a popular apparel brand. Many others already have such joint ventures set in place, with some being partnered up with even more popular global brands.
For instance, Team Vitality partnered with Adidas France for a year to produce their team’s apparel in 2017.
In 2018, Dignitas announced a franchise partnership with Champion Athleticwear.
Foot Locker collaborated with Champion and five esports teams: OpTic, Counter Logic Gaming, Dignitas, Spacestation Gaming, and Renegades. Esports apparel collections are selling in its retail stores.
CLG’s Fortnite team has assigned FILA as the official apparel partner last month. OpTic Gaming has also recently entered a collaborative partnership with Champion.
Nike embraced esports in a sponsorship deal with League of Legends Pro League in China, where they will supply players with garments and sell it at the events.
It is likely that this trend will continue and more global apparel brands will join the growing esports industry in different partnerships in the future.
